Maltby: Arsonist puts family in danger after setting fire to caravan

The family discovered the blaze in the early hours of the morning

A mother has condemned arsonists for putting her family at risk after a caravan went up in flames just feet away from their home.

Tracey Byrne, aged 38, was at home with her husband and their two children, Jacob Hunt, aged 13 and Olivia, 15, when a caravan they were storing for a friend outside their house on Churchill Avenue, Maltby, was set alight.

The family discovered the blaze at 1.30am on Sunday 2nd March when a neighbour knocked on their door to raise the alarm.

Firefighters called out to extinguish the flames, which shot up to the height of the bedroom windows of the house. believe, the fire was started deliberately.

A police investigation into the incident is now under way.

Tracey, who said a wheelie bin was also set alight on neighbouring Hamilton Road at around the same time, warned arson can kill.

She said: “I dread to think what might have happened if a neighbour hadn’t hammered on our door to tell us about the fire. We were so lucky not to have been hurt, or even worse- killed.”

Tracey is looking for engineers to reconnect her supplies after discovering the caravan was not insured, leaving her liable for the damage to her rented home.